It’s been a rough offseason for the New York Yankees. Joe Torre turns down their extension, Alex Rodriguez opts out of his contract and Mariano Rivera and Jorge Posada filed for free agency. They did hire Joe Girardi as their manager but tonight the news got a 1000 times worse.
Andy Pettitte has decided to turn down his $16 million option and now is uncertain of what he wants to do next season. His agent Randy Hendricks issued this statement.
“I have spoken with Brian Cashman, who has reiterated what Hank Steinbrenner said about the Yankees wanting to give Andy all the time he needs to decide about next season. Accordingly, we are declining to exercise the option for 2008 and Andy will declare free agency in order to free up a roster spot for the Yankees.
“If Andy decides to play, I am confident we can reach an agreement with the Yankees within 24 hours. The only options, as Andy has stated, are the Yankees or retirement. He appreciates the Yankees’ willingness to give him the time he feels he needs. I do not expect him to make a decision for quite some time.”
The only good thing about this is the fact that Pettitte said he will only pitch for the Yankees. The Yankees projected rotation looks a little something like this: Chien-Mien Wang, Mike Mussina, Joba Chamberlain, Phillip Hughes, and Ian Kennedy. Not exactly a threatening rotation to say the least.
But WOW!! I honestly thought that he would return to the Yankees but hey I am not going to shed a tear, I am a Red Sox fan after all.
